These plush fellows began life on greetings cards. When they became toys in 1984 they were still acting as greeting cards, wishing you a happy birthday or lots of luck.
They had an emblem embroidered on their belly representing the particular sentiment the bear was named after. There was Love-A-Lot Bear, Grumpy Bear, Wish Bear, Funshine Bear, Cheer Bear and many many more.
The Care Bears also had their own TV cartoon show where they lived in a land called Care-A-Lot and had to battle it out for goodness with the likes of Professor Coldheart and Noheart.